Municipal Solid Waste Decision Support Tool

One of the greatest environmental challenges is the cost-effective and environmentally sound management of waste. From a sustainability perspective, the generation of waste is an inefficient use of natural resources. In addition, once generated, waste can present adverse impacts to the environment and to humans who come into contact with it or with the resulting pollution. Wastes are produced and managed at all levels of society, from households to industrial facilities, and at all levels of government and commercial activities.

RTI works with federal, state, and local governments in the United States and abroad in solving waste management problems both by helping local governments to identify the economic and environmental costs and benefits of alternatives for managing municipal solid waste. In all of our work, we keep sustainable solutions at the forefront, looking for ways to manage waste cost-effectively while minimizing the environmental impacts of the waste management solutions.

With co-funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy through a cooperative research agreement, RTI led the development a comprehensive municipal solid waste decision-support tool (MSW DST). The MSW DST is designed to aid solid waste planners in evaluating the cost and environmental aspects of integrated municipal solid waste management strategies. The tool enables users to simulate existing MSW management practices and conduct scenario analyses of new strategies based on cost and environmental objectives. The MSW DST includes multiple design options for waste collection, transfer, materials recovery, composting, waste-to-energy, and landfill disposal.

The MSW DST can be used to identify and evaluate cost and environmental aspects associated with specific waste management strategies or existing systems. It can also be used to identify costs and environmental aspects of proposed strategies such as those designed to meet recycling and waste diversion goals, quantify potential environmental benefits associated with recycling, identify strategies for optimizing energy recovery from MSW, and evaluate options for reducing greenhouse gases, air pollutants, and environmental releases to water-bodies or ecosystems.

Acknowledgements

The MSW DST is the result of collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and RTI and its partners. Key members of RTI's team and their contributions to the MSW DST are as follows:

North Carolina State University - process model and prototype tool development

University of Wisconsin at Madison - compost laboratory analysis and process model developmen

Eastern Research Group - redesign of the user interface and preparation of user tutorials

Franklin Associates - development of life cycle inventory data for materials manufacturing and electrical energy production

Five Winds International - development of life cycle inventory data for materials manufacturing

The MSW DST has undergone formal peer review conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and including the following reviewers:

Dr. Gregory A. Keoleian - University of Michigan

Dr. Jay Lund - University of California at Davis

Ms. Lynn Scarlett - Reason Public Policy Institute

Dr. David Allen - University of Texas at Austin

Dr. Robert P. Anex - University of Oklahoma

Ms. Ruksana Mirza - Proctor and Redfern, Ltd. Canada

Mr. Mitchell Kessler - TIA Solid Waste Management Consultants, Inc.

Dr. Aarne Vesilind - Bucknell University

Mr. Kevin Brady - Demeter Group, Canada

Dr. Peter White - Procter & Gamble, Ltd UK

Dr Steven B. Young - SB Young Consulting, Canada

Dr. Jürgen Giegrich - Ifeu- Institute, Germany

Dr. Debra Reinhart - University of Central Florida, College of Engineering

The MSW DST also received extensive review and input from a wide variety of stakeholders including representatives from state and local governments, academia, NGOs, and industry including: